Power Connectors

Table of Contents:

Written By:

Ajish Alfred

C7/C8 connector

These connectors have only two pins. The earth pin is absent in these connectors. They come in both polarized and non-polarized models. The C7/C8 connectors are designed to operate up to 2.5A current at 70 degree pin temperature maximum. The connectors have ‘B’ geometry with non-polarized connectors having both ends rounded and the polarized connector having one of the edge Square shaped.

The drawings of un-polarized and polarized C7/C8 connectors

The un-polarized C8 connector can be inserted into the polarized C7 connector but the polarized C8 connector cannot be connected to the unpolarized C7 connector. It is not recommended to connect an unpolarized connector to a polarized connector, because the device might be designed for a particular power supply polarization and this practice can potentially damage the device.

The image of a C8 IEC connector

The image of a C7 IEC connector

They are usually found in small radios, battery operated rechargeable devices, laptop power supplies etc.

C13/C14 connector

The C13/C14 connectors have three pins including an earth pin. Due to its three pin geometry these connectors are polarized. Compared to other standards they can be operated at much higher current up to 10 or 15 amperes. The temperature rating is similar to other standard with a pin temperature of maximum 70 degrees.

The diagram of C13/C14 connector

These connectors are commonly found in PC cabinets. They are called as “Kettle cords” in some countries may be due to its higher current and temperature ratings. But the temperature rating is actually much lesser than those connectors used in electric kettles.

The image of C13 IEC connector

The image for C14 IEC connector

These kinds of connectors are widely used in PC cabinet, Monitors, SMPS, UPS, printers and many other electrical devices.